I hope this email finds you well, happily with those at home in your ’bubble’.
Usually at this time of year we're all looking forward to the Easter weekend because it’s traditionally a time for many to take a break, have a holiday, to escape to the beach, to visit family and/or for some , a time for religious reflection.
There is no doubt that things will be different this year.
We have been told to avoid all non-essential travel and not to use our vehicles to travel to beaches or parks. That also means not going to your beach house even though you want to travel with those in your ‘bubble’. I’m told Police will be checking known ‘holiday destinations ‘ and major roads leading to them, including motorway on-ramps.
Religious gatherings are also prohibited at this time, but many churches and religious institutions are successfully offering their services online during what many believe, is a significant time in the religious calendar.
However there is still an opportunity to enjoy quality time with our families. It just requires a bit of initiative and imagination.
Talking of imagination, for those with children, there have been many questions about the ability of the Easter Bunny to deliver Easter eggs during lockdown.
One of our ward MP’s Simon O’Connor, ( MP for Tamaki), posted a fun video where he asked a number of ‘local experts’ will the Easter Bunny get through? Having been promoted as having ‘special responsibility for Easter Bunnies’ you can check out my confirmation here https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=606580659922964
To add some Easter creativity , children can also create their own pictures of Easter eggs to display in their home windows for other children to look out for while walking around the neighbourhood and to share online using the hashtag #NZEggHunt. It’s a similar concept to the bear hunt which is proving to be hugely successful and fun to see as one walks around the local neighbourhood.
The St Heliers Business Association have also created a virtual Easter hunt on their website with great prizes on offer. Have a look in the shops at stheliers.com/easterhunt, find the hidden bunnies, and enter the numbers they are holding into the online form before April 24th.
You can also check out the ‘barfootstonefields’ Instagram page for details of their Easter colouring competition. Entries must be in by 16th April for a chance to win some fantastic family friendly prizes. Best of luck to all taking part in both competitions 😊
If your rubbish collection is on a Friday or a Monday remember it will be a day late due to the Easter statutory holidays (Good Friday and Easter Monday).
For those of you in Remuera, here is an opportunity to contribute to capturing a piece of history. Remuera Heritage have invited people to document the sights and sites in Remuera that portray the lockdown and create something special to show future generations. Submit your stories and photographs here : https://remueraheritage.org.nz/news/share-your-experience-of-the-covid-19-lockdown/
Wherever you are, I would encourage families to document their time spent in lockdown. In the future, it will be important to be able to reflect on what we have learned from this experience at both a societal and individual level. My own family are doing this – its history in the making.
Now a few reminders about changes that happen at Easter for food retailers. Supermarkets in New Zealand will be closed this Good Friday (10th April) in order to give workers a well-earned break, and shops a chance to stock up. However, some supermarkets will be open on Easter Sunday (12th April). Trading on Easter Sunday is allowed under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 under certain circumstances and so a change in law is not required a for them to stay open. I would suggest you to check with your local supermarket to find out what hours they plan on operating, and please remember to be courteous to the staff, they are doing a great job and deserve to be treated with respect.
A huge thank to Mary - one of our local residents who has collated supermarket opening hours for those living in the Orakei Ward. I’ve posted the details on my website (the post below this one).
Now here is a shopping tip. A great way to avoid being stuck in a long queue outside the supermarket is to check Google Maps' 'popular times' feature. A quick search for your local supermarket will bring up a graph showing, in real-time, whether it's currently quieter, or busier, than usual. Another tip is to aim for a tea-time shopping trip. Previously you would find yourself amid a post-work rush, but in the days of lockdown, this can be a relatively quiet time. I have also heard Countdown are offering a priority hour between 8-9am for uniformed medical and emergency services personnel. I'd urge you to avoid this timeslot to allow our essential healthcare workers time to get their groceries. These people are our heroes.
Like so many organizations and businesses faced with a period of uncertainty, Auckland Council has had some difficult decisions to make. We started lockdown in a relatively strong position financially but are not immune to the short and long-term economic impacts of COVID-19. We therefore need to manage costs where we can, and our absolute priority has to be ensuring a continuation of essential services to keep our city running. We have cut up to 1100 contractor and temporary positions as we prepare for an unprecedented budget.
Regardless of what you read in media or from other sources, as chair of the Finance and Performance Committee I can assure you that no decision has been made re our rates setting. Things are very different from when the mayor first drafted his thoughts as to our next annual plan. Multiple modelling is now being done across our many budget lines focused on delivering core services. I am acutely aware this is a very tough time for many – both business ratepayers and residential ratepayers. Our decisions need and must reflect that.
It therefore is unsurprising that in its first week of operation, Auckland Council's helpline has received over 3000 requests for assistance from vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled as well as those who have lost their income as a result of COVID-19. Council contact centre staff have been re-deployed to answer these calls and determine how best assist these families. If you are aware of anyone who might be facing financial hardship or anyone who does not have support networks, please direct them to 0800 22 22 96 between 7am and 7pm.
As if Aucklanders haven't got enough to worry about, Watercare have raised concerns this week about increasingly lower than normal water levels in our reservoirs following our long, dry summer. Water storage is currently at 53%, almost 20% lower than this time last year. We are therefore being asked to conserve water where we can. While we should still be thoroughly washing our hands, let's try to keep showers to a four-minute maximum and leave washing the cars and the watering the gardens until the region sees some rain. Much like our united response to COVID-19 - we can prevent this from becoming a big problem if we collectively adapt our behaviour.
You may have heard that bad weather is forecast for this weekend. As a precaution, please take the usual steps to prepare for a possible storm. This includes securing outdoor eqipment such as trampolines and garden furniture, ensuring you have a torch with batteries and adequate drinking water stored.
Vector have advised that in their response to any outages, staff will work in smaller teams safely and appropriately distanced from each other, but will prioritise restoring power to critical insfrastructure such as hospitals. This means that in the event of outages during our lockdown, it is possible fixing the issues will take a little longer than usual. I would ask for your patience and understanding if needed but hopefully all will be ok.
We are now into week three of our month long lockdown with most people following the rules. As a result, we can already see the impact of the 'elimination' stage of our COVID-19 response. On Tuesday 7th April the number of recovered cases in NZ exceeded the number of new confirmed or probable cases. A success which belongs to all of us. Let's continue to be patient and keep supporting each other.
Finally, whatever Easter means to you, I wish you and your family all the joy and wonder this special holiday brings
Desley